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THOMAS, JOHN (1838-1905), photographer.

He was b. at
Glan-rhyd
,
Cellan, Cards.
,
14 April 1838
, son of
David
and
JaneThomas
, went to
Cellan school
(where he became a
pupil-teacher
), and was apprenticed to a
draper
at
Lampeter
. From
1853 till 1863
he
worked in a drapery shop
at
Liverpool
; then illhealth drove him to seek outdoor work as
commission-salesman for a stationery and photograph firm
.

Noting the scanty representation of
Wales
among the notabilities whose photographs he had to sell, he embarked upon a venture which became his life's work. He began, in
1863
, by purchasing a camera and inviting a number of famous Welsh preachers to sit to him. He had at first to battle with a prejudice against ‘street photographers,’ but he persevered, and in
1867opened his own photographic business
at
53, S. Anne Street
; this became known as ‘
The Cambrian Gallery
,’ a name which it retained (at various addresses) for thirty years, until it became ‘
Yr Oriel Gymreig
,’ when it was acquired by
(
Sir
)
Owen M.Edwards
. In
1867
, too,
Thomas
made his first professional visit to
Wales
— to photograph the
Calvinistic Methodist General Assembly
, then in session at
Llanidloes
. Thereafter he travelled the length and breadth of
Wales
, photographing notabilities and
‘characters,’ churches and chapels, homes of famous Welshmen, ancient buildings and places of scenic beauty — all this despite difficulties of open-air photography by the wet process,’ and difficulties of transport. Realising the unique value of his collection, he selected over 3,000 of his plates and sold them ‘
for a very moderate sum
’ to
O. M.Edwards
, who used them for illustrating
Cymru
and ‘
Cyfres y Fil
’; they are today in the
National Library of Wales
.

Thomas
had other interests. He wrote extensively in
Cymru (O.M.E.)
and other
Welsh
periodicals. He was a deeply religious man, a member of
Rose Place C.M. church
until its dissolution in
1865
, and afterwards of
Fitzclarence Street C.M. church
.